UCLA's great escape

DENIED: UCLA's Josh Shipp, right, denies Texas A&amp;M's Donald Sloan in the final second allowing the win Saturday night during round two of the NCAA game in Anaheim. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register

ANAHEIM -- The shortcomings were hanging out, holding them back. The lack of a third scoring option and the poor perimeter shooting appeared to be the end of UCLA, well short of its stated goal in this NCAA Tournament.

But Darren Collison and Kevin Love kept the Bruins on track and eventually put them into the Sweet 16, combining for 40 of their points in a 53-49, comeback victory over Texas A&M on Saturday at the Honda Center.

Collison had 21 points including the game-winner with 9.5 seconds to play, the Bruins' point guard driving to the basket with an escort down the right side of the lane from the freshman center and banking the ball high off the glass. He chucked when asked if Love might have acted as a blocking back into the lane, providing a moving screen.

“He's so big, he rode my guy down with him,” he said. “I put my head down and went hard to the glass.”

And after the Aggies' Donald Sloan had his last-gasp shot attempt with four seconds remaining partially blocked by Josh Shipp, who clearly fouled the Aggies' point guard on the play, UCLA was onto Phoenix in a West Regional that has seen the higher seeds decimated in a slew of upsets.

No. 2 Duke lost on Saturday to No. 7 seed West Virginia. No. 4 Connecticut was taken down by San Diego, the No. 13 seed. No. 5 Drake lost in overtime on a last second shot by Western Kentucky, the No. 12 seed.

When the Bruins get to Phoenix, they will play the winner of the game on Sunday between the Hilltoppers and Toreros for a berth in the Elite Eight - that's Western Kentucky and San Diego, by the way.

They might be living a charmed life since the end of the Pac-10 regular season and controversial victories over Stanford and Cal, but they are well aware that they will need better play than they did against Texas A&M if they are going to advance.

“Obviously, if we play like that we're not going to be able to survive very long,” James Keefe said.

Against the Aggies, Collison and Love combined to hit 14 of 25 shots (56 percent). The rest of the Bruins combined to make only 6 of 20 (30 percent). Josh Shipp, who came in having hit only 13 of his last 66 shots (19.7 percent) at the 3-point line, missed all four of his shots, including three behind the arc. He was scoreless in a game for the first time since a UCLA victory at McArthur Court at Oregon on Jan. 2, 2005.

Westbrook made only 3 of 10 shots - all of them off steals or turnovers bolting to the basket. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was 1 of 4 and turned over the ball six times.

It was all Collison and Love at the offensive end, making plays. The Bruins' center even pulled out a shot he hasn't used much if at all at UCLA - a fall away jumper. He hit one from the right to pull UCLA into a tie, 45-45, with 2:09 remaining, another from the left baseline to tie the score at 47 with 1:31 to go.

“That's actually a shot I used to shoot in high school a lot. Believe it or not, (Coach Ben Howland) doesn't like me to shoot fall away jumps shots, but that's what I went to and that's what worked for me,” he said.

The Bruins' defense usually sparks their offense - and this game turned on defense. UCLA, which had allowed 26 of the Aggies' 29 first-half points to come in the paint, adjusted in the second half and held the Aggies to only two field goals over the final 10 minutes in coming back from a 44-36 deficit. The Bruins, Love in particular, started swatting at shots, turning away Texas A&M inside. He finished with eight blocked shots, the Bruins with 11.

But the offense remained Love and Collison, the final drive to the basket, Howland said, a classic move.

“That was vintage Darren Collison,” he said. “Driving down the lane, going right, high off the glass, kissing it in. The (winning) one was really a blessing because that thing kind of rolled in for us. And, believe me, I'm very thankful.”

DENIED: UCLA's Josh Shipp, right, denies Texas A&M's Donald Sloan in the final second allowing the win Saturday night during round two of the NCAA game in Anaheim. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register
CELEBRATE:UCLA's Darren Collison screams with joy after scoring in the final seconds of the win over Texas A&M Saturday night in Anaheim. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register
FINAL BASKET: UCLA's Russel Westbrook slams the final basket to put away Texas A&M in the final seconds of the 2nd round of the NCAA Championship. Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register
WESTBROOK CELEBRATES: UCLA's Russell Westbrook (L) celebrates after scoring the winning basket to beat Texas A &M in the 2nd round of the NCAA championships. Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register
OVER AND OUT:UCLA's Russell Westbrook has the last dunk uncontested creating the final four point lead to finish off Texas A&M Saturday night in the NCAA round two game in Anaheim. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register
LOVING IT! UCLA's Kevin Love celebrates the victory and close game as Texas A&M's forward Bryan Davis soaks in the loss seconds after the close NCAA round two game Saturday night in Anaheim. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register
ALL TIED UP: UCLA's Kevin Love is restrained in the second half of play but the big an and his team came out on top in the final seconds of the second round NCAA game Saturday night in Anaheim. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register
DEFENSE: UCLA's Kevin Love defends the basket against Bryan Davis of Texas A&M. Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register
ALL ALONE: UCLA's Darren Collison is surrounded by Texas A&M players in the first half of a tight scoring game Saturday night. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register
LOVE SCORES: UCLA's Kevin Love scores a basket as Joseph Jones of Texas A&M defends. Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register
TASTE OF VICTORY: UCLA players react as their teammates score a basket with a minute to go in the game against Texas A &M. Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register
SWEET CELEBRATION: Kevin Love (R) and Lorenzo Mata-Real celebrate as the UCLA Bruins beat Texas A & M to advance to the 3rd round of the NCAA Championships. Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register
ONE ON ONE COVERAGE: UCLA's Kevin Love (42) puts pressure on Texas A& M's Joseph Jones in the 2nd half of Saturday's NCAA championship game. Paul Rodriguez, The Orange County Register
FEELING THE PRESSURE: UCLA's Kevin Love has no where to go but back out to Darren Collison in the second half of the NCAA round 2 game Saturday in Anaheim. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register
WAITING HIS TURN: UCLA's Kevin Love waits for an opening in the dirst half of the game Saturday night against Texas A&M. Daniel A. Anderson, The Orange County Register

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